WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:14.540 When you think about buying spreadsheet software, of course, the first thing you think about 00:14.540 --> 00:16.360 is Lotus 1-2-3. 00:16.360 --> 00:20.260 The product which established the spreadsheet is a major PC application. 00:20.260 --> 00:24.080 But nowadays, there's a whole new generation of spreadsheet programs which provide new 00:24.080 --> 00:26.040 levels of functionality and power. 00:26.040 --> 00:30.280 Today, we take a look at this new generation of spreadsheet software, both for the IBM 00:30.280 --> 00:46.960 PC and the Macintosh, on this edition of the Computer Chronicles. 00:46.960 --> 01:02.480 The Computer Chronicles is made possible by Leading Edge, makers of IBM-compatible computer 01:02.480 --> 01:07.040 systems including word processing with spelling correction, communication software, and Hays 01:07.040 --> 01:10.440 compatible 1200 and 2400 baud modems. 01:10.440 --> 01:13.760 Leading Edge, with over 1,000 service centers nationwide. 01:13.760 --> 01:16.840 Leading Edge, leading the way to the information age. 01:16.840 --> 01:20.480 Additional funding is provided by McGraw-Hill, publishers of Byte. 01:20.480 --> 01:25.080 Byte's detailed technical articles on new hardware, software, and languages cover developments 01:25.080 --> 01:33.520 in computer technology worldwide. 01:33.520 --> 01:34.800 Welcome to the Computer Chronicles. 01:34.800 --> 01:37.000 I'm Stuart Shafae and this is Gary Kildall. 01:37.000 --> 01:40.640 Gary, when we looked at spreadsheet software last week, we were talking about the MS-DOS 01:40.640 --> 01:44.560 world, IBM's, as you tend to when you're talking about business software. 01:44.560 --> 01:48.000 This is a Macintosh, believe it or not, the new Mac 2. 01:48.000 --> 01:51.000 And we hear an awful lot about the Mac in the business marketplace. 01:51.000 --> 01:53.880 This looks and acts a lot more like a business type computer. 01:53.880 --> 01:54.880 What do you think? 01:54.880 --> 01:57.280 Is the Mac going to be a serious player for people who use spreadsheets and that kind 01:57.280 --> 01:58.280 of thing? 01:58.280 --> 02:00.280 Well, Stuart, you know when the Mac was first introduced several years ago, it really wasn't 02:00.280 --> 02:02.200 targeted at the business market itself. 02:02.200 --> 02:06.520 In those days, typical business applications were spreadsheet, word processor, database 02:06.520 --> 02:07.520 kind of work. 02:07.520 --> 02:11.080 And it was really a graphics engine with a small, slow disk and so forth. 02:11.080 --> 02:13.280 But the two worlds of business and Mac have sort of come together. 02:13.280 --> 02:14.600 In business now, it's very important. 02:14.600 --> 02:17.560 Desktop publishing is a very important aspect of it. 02:17.560 --> 02:20.640 Image processing, general rich text, things of this sort. 02:20.640 --> 02:25.320 Now the Mac has got now a large size screen, big hard disk, and so we can really see those 02:25.320 --> 02:26.520 two things working together. 02:26.520 --> 02:30.080 Now also Apple has announced their LAN strategy, hook up to IBM machines. 02:30.080 --> 02:32.200 So it could be a good choice for business. 02:32.200 --> 02:35.560 Gary, we're going to take a look at two of the top rated spreadsheet programs for the 02:35.560 --> 02:37.800 Macintosh, Excel and Trapeze. 02:37.800 --> 02:42.280 And we'll also see two new generation spreadsheet programs for the IBM, things that do a lot 02:42.280 --> 02:44.440 more than the traditional spreadsheet. 02:44.440 --> 02:48.200 Now one of the alternatives spreadsheet users have are the low cost alternatives. 02:48.200 --> 02:52.040 And one of the big issues in spreadsheets right now is the whole issue of look and feel. 02:52.040 --> 02:56.440 We're going to start out with a report on that. 02:56.440 --> 02:59.440 This is a computer spreadsheet screen. 02:59.440 --> 03:02.040 This is a computer spreadsheet screen. 03:02.040 --> 03:03.820 And so is this. 03:03.820 --> 03:08.440 If they look similar, that's part of the reason for a sudden increase in lawsuits between 03:08.440 --> 03:10.040 software developers. 03:10.040 --> 03:16.280 Lotus, best known for its 123 program, is suing Paperback software over the similarity 03:16.280 --> 03:22.280 of its VP Planner program and Mosaic software for its twin spreadsheet. 03:22.280 --> 03:29.520 The heart of the complaint is that Mosaic and Paperback both infringe the overall quote 03:29.520 --> 03:34.040 look and feel of the Lotus 123 program. 03:34.040 --> 03:40.040 Specifically what they've claimed is that the defendants have used identical or very 03:40.040 --> 03:47.480 similar program names or command names, very similar menu structure and sub menu structure, 03:47.480 --> 03:53.960 same kind of syntax in the language that they use in the programs, such that the user who 03:53.960 --> 03:58.200 looks at one program versus the other will say the overall look and feel is essentially 03:58.200 --> 04:00.000 the same. 04:00.000 --> 04:05.960 While a program's source code is clearly protected by law, the elusive look and feel of a screen 04:05.960 --> 04:12.240 display is a relatively new aspect of software protection and open to sharp disagreement. 04:12.240 --> 04:18.600 The idea is that a lot of the functionality that people need you cannot patent or copyright. 04:18.600 --> 04:28.280 And further, a lot of the user interface words and things ought to be available to many people, 04:28.280 --> 04:32.640 especially that the very common words are used in many cases. 04:32.640 --> 04:37.000 Take a simple book, any book that you have, well, those are all words that are in the 04:37.000 --> 04:38.000 English language. 04:38.000 --> 04:39.940 And in that sense, they're not original. 04:39.940 --> 04:45.200 What becomes original is the manner in which the developer puts them together, the way 04:45.200 --> 04:50.000 that he organizes them or orders them or sequences them. 04:50.000 --> 04:52.640 That's what gets protected by copyright law. 04:52.640 --> 04:57.840 A recent case involving communications software could have a significant impact on future 04:57.840 --> 04:59.560 look and feel cases. 04:59.560 --> 05:06.160 DCA, which owns the Crosstalk program, sued the Softclone company for its mirror communications 05:06.160 --> 05:07.360 package. 05:07.360 --> 05:10.280 The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff. 05:10.280 --> 05:18.560 Given that the court in that case held that essentially one key screen was enough to constitute 05:18.560 --> 05:24.560 copyrightable material and found that the defendants had infringed that one key screen, 05:24.560 --> 05:32.560 that means that cloning user interfaces is going to be extremely suspect in the future. 05:32.560 --> 05:37.760 One of the many difficulties encountered by software developers is the overwhelming dominance 05:37.760 --> 05:43.220 of a handful of programs, which some companies view as de facto standards. 05:43.220 --> 05:49.040 And when you go into a stretched market, you realize that there is primarily one customer 05:49.040 --> 05:51.560 that dominates the market, and that is Lotus. 05:51.560 --> 05:56.200 They probably have approximately 60 to 80 percent of the marketplace. 05:56.200 --> 06:03.400 So the already existing de facto standards in the marketplace make it literally impossible 06:03.400 --> 06:09.160 for anybody to enter that marketplace or do anything constructive. 06:09.160 --> 06:14.120 All sides agree, for different reasons, that the outcome of these cases will have a major 06:14.120 --> 06:17.040 impact on the future of original software. 06:17.040 --> 06:22.000 Assume what's going to happen if in the worst case scenario, Lotus wins. 06:22.000 --> 06:24.200 Absolutely, it's going to be chaos. 06:24.200 --> 06:28.720 I mean, people are going to start doing things just for the sake of being different. 06:28.720 --> 06:30.880 They're going to make it different. 06:30.880 --> 06:36.680 And it's going to be incredibly hard for any user to do anything with any of these programs. 06:36.680 --> 06:41.760 One of the purposes of the copyright laws is to reward people's invention. 06:41.760 --> 06:46.120 I don't know what kind of creativity it is that's being stifled in this case. 06:46.120 --> 06:49.200 Is cloning considered that creative? 06:49.200 --> 06:50.560 I'm not sure. 06:50.560 --> 06:55.760 I think that perhaps more creativity comes out of the fact that authors are rewarded 06:55.760 --> 07:08.200 for what they've done. 07:08.200 --> 07:12.200 Joining us in the studio now is Mike Slay, the Macintosh products manager with Microsoft, 07:12.200 --> 07:13.560 the makers of Excel. 07:13.560 --> 07:17.200 Next to Mike is Andrew Wolfe, president of DataTailor, Inc., makers of Trapeze. 07:17.200 --> 07:18.200 Gary. 07:18.200 --> 07:22.280 Mike, the first, I guess, the granddaddy of spreadsheets, VisiCalc, was a character-oriented 07:22.280 --> 07:26.480 spreadsheet and there was a major generation change when 1, 2, 3 came out with graphics 07:26.480 --> 07:27.480 and so forth. 07:27.480 --> 07:31.040 Now, is the Mac 2 going to be a generation change also in spreadsheets? 07:31.040 --> 07:34.640 Well, I think the Macintosh in general helped that occur. 07:34.640 --> 07:39.400 The whole notion of a graphical user interface with pull-down menus and a mouse and icons 07:39.400 --> 07:43.000 led us to sign a spreadsheet, Excel, that was much more like working with pieces of 07:43.000 --> 07:46.120 paper on a desktop and letting you make relations between those pieces of paper. 07:46.120 --> 07:49.440 And this just extends that in many nice ways, color, graphics, speed. 07:49.440 --> 07:52.000 Andy, what are your thoughts on it? 07:52.000 --> 07:56.040 Well, I see the machine as allowing people to do things they have not been able to do 07:56.040 --> 08:01.280 before, work with larger spreadsheets, be able to calculate more complex models, display 08:01.280 --> 08:05.680 more charts, and that is going to improve a lot of people's productivity. 08:05.680 --> 08:06.680 Okay. 08:06.680 --> 08:09.520 Now, Mike, you have a demonstration for how Excel can give us, right? 08:09.520 --> 08:10.520 That's right. 08:10.520 --> 08:11.520 Okay. 08:11.520 --> 08:15.240 So, as you see here on the screen, Excel doesn't look much like a traditional spreadsheet. 08:15.240 --> 08:18.720 You have not one but several different worksheets open, and they look like different pieces 08:18.720 --> 08:20.480 of paper on your desk, Mike. 08:20.480 --> 08:25.120 You can zoom the screen up and work with one or several sheets at a time and build formulas 08:25.120 --> 08:28.520 by pointing and clicking, strolling around the worksheet just by using the mouse. 08:28.520 --> 08:29.520 It's very simple. 08:29.520 --> 08:30.520 It's a very large worksheet. 08:30.520 --> 08:32.840 It's very fast, very easy to work with. 08:32.840 --> 08:36.960 It's very easy, for example, to build relationships between worksheets just by pointing and clicking. 08:36.960 --> 08:42.440 I can take these two subsidiary spreadsheets and just paste in the names for them and link 08:42.440 --> 08:45.600 them to this total spreadsheet. 08:45.600 --> 08:50.880 And without having to do any complex math or anything, I can just enter the formula, 08:50.880 --> 08:55.000 and it's automatically built so that later if one of these values changes, say, from 08:55.000 --> 09:00.880 71,000 to a much larger number like 710,000, you see the number is instantly reflected 09:00.880 --> 09:02.360 up here in the total spreadsheet. 09:02.360 --> 09:06.240 In a product like 123, not only couldn't you do that, but you couldn't even think about 09:06.240 --> 09:09.040 doing it because you could only see one spreadsheet at a time. 09:09.040 --> 09:13.800 In the same way, it's very easy then to take a group of numbers and very quickly open a 09:13.800 --> 09:16.800 window that has a graphical representation of those numbers. 09:16.800 --> 09:19.760 And that window can then be linked to those numbers. 09:19.760 --> 09:21.560 And I'll show you how that works in just a second here. 09:21.560 --> 09:25.280 So you can see I have a graph now that represents those numbers. 09:25.280 --> 09:31.360 And if one of these numbers up here changes to a smaller number, you'll see the graph 09:31.360 --> 09:34.300 is instantly redrawn to reflect that change. 09:34.300 --> 09:37.840 So you get visual feedback, and you can have as many charts or spreadsheets open at a time 09:37.840 --> 09:38.840 as you like. 09:38.840 --> 09:41.040 It's also very easy to change what the graph looks like. 09:41.040 --> 09:44.920 There's a built-in pictorial gallery, another innovation that the Macintosh facilitates 09:44.920 --> 09:48.600 that lets you pick between different kinds of charts and have the chart be redrawn in 09:48.600 --> 09:50.600 whatever format it is that you'd like to see it in. 09:50.600 --> 09:54.280 And so rather than pick from some list of charts, it's very nice to be able to see a 09:54.280 --> 09:56.680 pictorial representation of that. 09:56.680 --> 10:02.440 One of the nicest strengths of a product like Excel is that it lets you automate things. 10:02.440 --> 10:06.040 And what I'm going to do here now is close all those spreadsheets and open what's called 10:06.040 --> 10:07.040 a macro. 10:07.040 --> 10:10.160 And Excel actually records what you do. 10:10.160 --> 10:12.160 It learns what you do, and will then play it back. 10:12.160 --> 10:15.880 And I'm going to show you an example of something that Excel recorded my actions and turned 10:15.880 --> 10:17.800 them into a thing called a macro. 10:17.800 --> 10:22.260 And now it's going to automate the process of entering data, which notice it's actually 10:22.260 --> 10:29.680 prompting me with this little dialog box, and then asking me to put the data in. 10:29.680 --> 10:34.040 And then it takes the data, reformats it, and puts up a chart window of the data without 10:34.040 --> 10:35.160 me having to do anything. 10:35.160 --> 10:37.160 And that's really what computing is all about. 10:37.160 --> 10:39.320 Yeah, and you didn't have to write the macro. 10:39.320 --> 10:41.800 It wrote the macro following what you were doing the last time around. 10:41.800 --> 10:44.960 Yeah, before I had just done those same commands, and it wrote the command line. 10:44.960 --> 10:48.320 You can write it if you like, but it's very simple to have Excel write it for you. 10:48.320 --> 10:50.280 And you can just go through. 10:50.280 --> 10:54.360 The new machine is going to give us opportunities to make Excel run in color and lots of things 10:54.360 --> 10:55.760 to expand the capabilities of it. 10:55.760 --> 10:59.240 But since we've introduced the product, we've just had a fantastic reception to it. 10:59.240 --> 11:02.520 Speaking of color, Mike, if I can ask you to unload Excel and we can get Trapeze in 11:02.520 --> 11:03.520 there. 11:03.520 --> 11:06.360 And while Mike is doing that, Andrew, Trapeze does run in color. 11:06.360 --> 11:07.360 We're going to see that in just a minute. 11:07.360 --> 11:09.920 And one of the features of the Mac 2, of course, is the color. 11:09.920 --> 11:12.240 What role does color play in spreadsheets? 11:12.240 --> 11:13.240 Does it matter at all? 11:13.240 --> 11:19.800 Well, it can help the person who's developing a spreadsheet to show his numbers in a way 11:19.800 --> 11:22.400 that's easier for other people to comprehend and himself. 11:22.400 --> 11:28.340 He can show different numbers in red to show that he's losing money or highlight labels 11:28.340 --> 11:31.640 with color so that they're easy to find in a very large worksheet. 11:31.640 --> 11:36.680 And of course, you can do charts in color, which allows you to show the information much 11:36.680 --> 11:39.040 more graphically than just black and white can do. 11:39.040 --> 11:42.160 Maybe the best way to answer it is to run Trapeze for us, and we'll see how you do use 11:42.160 --> 11:43.160 color, Andrew. 11:43.160 --> 11:46.600 And why don't you tell us what you're doing as you do it. 11:46.600 --> 11:52.440 I'm just selecting three worksheets that I'm going to be showing and opening them all. 11:52.440 --> 11:58.600 So you notice the windows are in blue. 11:58.600 --> 12:02.840 The difference between Trapeze and a normal spreadsheet is that instead of having rows 12:02.840 --> 12:06.480 and columns, it's a free-form type of spreadsheet. 12:06.480 --> 12:11.400 The basic unit is a block, which is a collection of numbers, which can be a row, a column, 12:11.400 --> 12:13.280 or a table, or even just an individual value. 12:13.280 --> 12:18.360 And it has a name, which you can change and use the names to build formulas. 12:18.360 --> 12:22.800 So in this case, this total sales block is the sum of sales. 12:22.800 --> 12:25.920 So it knows that there are four values here, so it's sum of them. 12:25.920 --> 12:29.400 The formula over here is sales divided by total sales. 12:29.400 --> 12:33.800 So it understands that there are four values, and there's one value, so it needs to produce 12:33.800 --> 12:35.440 four values. 12:35.440 --> 12:39.900 And because the relationships are all built by name, I can take the block and move it 12:39.900 --> 12:41.920 anywhere I want, rearrange it. 12:41.920 --> 12:46.560 I can change its size and shape. 12:46.560 --> 12:51.000 I can change its font. 12:51.000 --> 12:52.880 And of course, the relationships don't change. 12:52.880 --> 13:00.480 The relationships are totally independent of where the block is located. 13:00.480 --> 13:04.360 And as you can see, there's also charts on the same page. 13:04.360 --> 13:08.600 The charts are built the same way, with a chart formula and then the block, the sales 13:08.600 --> 13:10.240 block and the region block. 13:10.240 --> 13:16.360 So as I change the number up here, you can see the chart will also change. 13:16.360 --> 13:18.200 And all the numbers will recalculate. 13:18.200 --> 13:22.200 Because the Macintosh is so good at doing fonts and styles and pictures, there's no 13:22.200 --> 13:25.440 reason why you can't include a picture in with your worksheet. 13:25.440 --> 13:29.480 This may be a trivial example, but it does show the ability to include graphics along 13:29.480 --> 13:34.840 with your spreadsheet, so that you can have a data entry form or an invoice and have calculations 13:34.840 --> 13:41.320 on top of it mixed in in different fonts along with your graph. 13:41.320 --> 13:48.520 Now this is a, I'll show you an example of how you can build a formula very easy without having to remember how to type things. 13:48.520 --> 13:52.400 Right here is the sum of investments, which is the block right here. 13:52.400 --> 13:58.640 Now I'm going to build this simply by pulling the sum function from the scrolling menu. 13:58.640 --> 14:02.000 And then down here is a list of all the open worksheets. 14:02.000 --> 14:05.760 So I can go to any worksheet that's in memory by name. 14:05.760 --> 14:11.560 So in this case, I'm going to get invest at the checkbox and it recalculated it. 14:11.560 --> 14:17.200 So Trapeze allows you to not only do calculations, but also to lay them out in an attractive 14:17.200 --> 14:21.480 manner and a lot of people who do calculations need to present them to people. 14:21.480 --> 14:26.560 So Trapeze allows you to do it without having to go to other programs to put all the pieces 14:26.560 --> 14:27.560 together. 14:27.560 --> 14:30.040 Andrew, is Trapeze written especially for the Mac 2 or does it run on? 14:30.040 --> 14:32.160 It runs on all Macintoshes. 14:32.160 --> 14:36.400 This version is the version we shipped in January long before the Mac 2 existed and 14:36.400 --> 14:39.080 it ran in color then. 14:39.080 --> 14:42.920 We are producing a version specifically for the Mac 2 to take advantage of additional 14:42.920 --> 14:44.960 colors and some other features it can do. 14:44.960 --> 14:45.960 Mike, what about Excel? 14:45.960 --> 14:51.600 Excel was written, at least almost two years ago, and it runs fine on the Mac 2, but it 14:51.600 --> 14:53.440 runs on the entire Macintosh family. 14:53.440 --> 14:57.680 And we are also working on a new version that will take more specific advantage of the capabilities. 14:57.680 --> 15:00.880 Gary, I think it's pretty clear the answer to your question is we've come a long way 15:00.880 --> 15:02.200 from Lotus 1, 2, 3. 15:02.200 --> 15:03.360 This is a generation leap. 15:03.360 --> 15:04.360 Gentlemen, thanks very much. 15:04.360 --> 15:07.760 We're going to be back in just a minute with two more spreadsheet programs that do a lot 15:07.760 --> 15:09.800 more than traditional spreadsheet work. 15:09.800 --> 15:11.240 One of them is called Words and Figures. 15:11.240 --> 15:12.640 The other is called Predict. 15:12.640 --> 15:25.800 So stay with us. 15:25.800 --> 15:28.720 With us now in the studio is Camillo Wilson. 15:28.720 --> 15:32.240 Camillo is president of Lifetree Software, makers of Words and Figures. 15:32.240 --> 15:35.960 Next to Camillo is Richard Roth, the director of Unison Technology, and they make a product 15:35.960 --> 15:36.960 called Predict. 15:36.960 --> 15:41.360 Camillo, on the last segment we just saw the Mac 2 with all the fancy high-resolution color 15:41.360 --> 15:42.760 graphics and so forth. 15:42.760 --> 15:46.840 You feel like people are going to move to that high-res graphics model or are we going 15:46.840 --> 15:48.680 to stick with the 1, 2, 3 model everybody knows? 15:48.680 --> 15:52.780 Well, there's no doubt that some people will want to look into the world of the future. 15:52.780 --> 15:54.200 People are always doing so. 15:54.200 --> 15:57.800 But the fact is that 1, 2, 3 right now has an install base of approximately two million 15:57.800 --> 16:00.360 copies and that are compatible programs. 16:00.360 --> 16:03.360 And the last thing that people want to do is to relearn what they already know. 16:03.360 --> 16:07.920 Now, Richard, both of you have products that really, I guess, improve upon the 1, 2, 3 16:07.920 --> 16:08.920 model. 16:08.920 --> 16:09.920 What sort of things have you done to yours? 16:09.920 --> 16:13.680 Well, what we've done is to take what everybody already knows in terms of the spreadsheet 16:13.680 --> 16:20.360 model and add in the capability that a small group of people want to be able to do to express 16:20.360 --> 16:24.600 uncertainty in their spreadsheets and forecasting and modeling various business situations. 16:24.600 --> 16:27.080 So this is an extension of the basic model. 16:27.080 --> 16:29.680 Camilo, can you show us the words and figures? 16:29.680 --> 16:30.680 Certainly. 16:30.680 --> 16:33.800 Words and figures was predicated on the idea that first of all people want the reasonably 16:33.800 --> 16:37.240 priced Lotus compatible spreadsheet, which is the first thing that a words and figures 16:37.240 --> 16:38.240 is. 16:38.240 --> 16:41.760 Then on top of that we added to words and figures the word processor, which is the most 16:41.760 --> 16:45.720 commonly used function that people do on their personal computers. 16:45.720 --> 16:47.800 So I will start here with a reconventional spreadsheet. 16:47.800 --> 16:49.600 Before you get to that, Camilo, I mean, what's the logic? 16:49.600 --> 16:53.040 I assume there's some premise here in terms of bringing the word processor into the spreadsheet. 16:53.040 --> 16:56.600 The premise is that if you have a financial story to tell, you may also want to tell people 16:56.600 --> 16:58.880 a qualitative verbal story about it. 16:58.880 --> 17:03.320 You want to brag about your profits or to be sorry about your losses. 17:03.320 --> 17:07.960 So for example, here we have a regular spreadsheet and like any spreadsheet would, if you change 17:07.960 --> 17:10.880 one number, the totals change and all the percentages change. 17:10.880 --> 17:15.560 And we also have the conventional graphing capabilities that 123 release 1A has. 17:15.560 --> 17:19.680 What is new about words and figures, besides a very high performance spreadsheet, is the 17:19.680 --> 17:22.240 addition of a simple to use word processor. 17:22.240 --> 17:28.320 So you can simply start by saying the results for the year. 17:28.320 --> 17:30.760 So you press one key and boom, you're into a word processor. 17:30.760 --> 17:31.760 Exactly. 17:31.760 --> 17:32.760 Rather than have to reload. 17:32.760 --> 17:33.760 Exactly. 17:33.760 --> 17:34.760 And the word processor feels like a real word processor. 17:34.760 --> 17:35.760 It does not feel like a spreadsheet. 17:35.760 --> 17:40.800 A lot of people use 123 to write, but that is a very unkind way to do it. 17:40.800 --> 17:45.280 So here we write our report, bragging to the chairman about our results, and now we import 17:45.280 --> 17:47.300 the spreadsheet itself. 17:47.300 --> 17:51.960 So we say, bring me the first 10 rows of the spreadsheet. 17:51.960 --> 17:53.800 And sure enough, here they are. 17:53.800 --> 17:57.080 Now not only are they here present in the word processor, but they're also live. 17:57.080 --> 18:01.360 Notice that my cursor now looks like the conventional spreadsheet cursor. 18:01.360 --> 18:05.520 And if in fact I change these numbers right here to a large number, all of the numbers 18:05.520 --> 18:06.520 are recalculated. 18:06.520 --> 18:09.800 If I take a look at my spreadsheet, sure enough, the spreadsheet was also recalculated. 18:09.800 --> 18:12.520 So you can operate on the spreadsheet inside the word processor. 18:12.520 --> 18:13.520 And vice versa. 18:13.520 --> 18:17.120 I mean, any change made in one is reflected automatically in the other. 18:17.120 --> 18:20.240 And then to make it even more interesting, for example, you can split the screen into 18:20.240 --> 18:21.240 two windows. 18:21.240 --> 18:22.960 Here we have a horizontal window. 18:22.960 --> 18:25.480 And let's turn this one into a word processing window. 18:25.480 --> 18:29.840 So you can be composing the text in here while you're viewing the spreadsheet in the other 18:29.840 --> 18:30.840 window. 18:30.840 --> 18:35.120 And if you change one number here, sure enough, it will change in the other one. 18:35.120 --> 18:36.840 There it is. 18:36.840 --> 18:37.840 OK. 18:37.840 --> 18:41.320 Is the word processor a so-called full-powered word processor? 18:41.320 --> 18:44.320 No, the word processor will not put a display right out of business. 18:44.320 --> 18:49.000 It is designed specifically to be a compatible word processor with the spreadsheet. 18:49.000 --> 18:53.200 For example, some of the things you notice in the word processor is that it uses a normal 18:53.200 --> 18:55.200 slash and the menu bar. 18:55.200 --> 18:58.600 So it feels very much like a spreadsheet, but it does all the things you expect. 18:58.600 --> 19:02.040 So it's just a layer on top of the spreadsheet, a simple layer on top of the spreadsheet, 19:02.040 --> 19:03.040 then? 19:03.040 --> 19:04.040 Yes, the word processor. 19:04.040 --> 19:07.280 Camilo, if you can unload words and figures there so we can get ready to take a look at 19:07.280 --> 19:08.280 Predicta. 19:08.280 --> 19:10.520 And Richard, let's follow up on Gary's question before. 19:10.520 --> 19:13.320 You talked about using uncertainty inside a spreadsheet. 19:13.320 --> 19:14.320 Explain that a little bit more. 19:14.320 --> 19:18.880 Well, basically, when people talk about uncertain things, they talk about, they make statements 19:18.880 --> 19:23.600 like my sales will be between two various numbers and this one's going to be more possible 19:23.600 --> 19:24.600 than another one. 19:24.600 --> 19:28.360 They aren't really dealing with absolute numbers the way they do in a typical spreadsheet. 19:28.360 --> 19:30.800 Which forces you to put a specific number in there. 19:30.800 --> 19:31.800 Exactly. 19:31.800 --> 19:34.800 And if you don't have the capability of representing uncertainty, then when you do present the 19:34.800 --> 19:38.840 results in these forecasts, what you're doing is leaving out the majority of the data that 19:38.840 --> 19:39.840 you're really talking about. 19:39.840 --> 19:44.040 And what Predicta enables you to do is to encapsulate all of the possibilities for a 19:44.040 --> 19:47.800 particular variable on your spreadsheet with all the probabilities associated with that 19:47.800 --> 19:50.080 and do calculations based on those probabilities. 19:50.080 --> 19:51.080 Could you show us how you do that? 19:51.080 --> 19:52.080 Sure, absolutely. 19:52.080 --> 19:54.720 Let me just bring up the predict here. 19:54.720 --> 19:57.760 The best way to show it is to sort of give a comparison, if you will, between the way 19:57.760 --> 20:01.600 people use spreadsheets and the way you would use predict in a similar situation. 20:01.600 --> 20:05.880 I can just restore a little sheet here. 20:05.880 --> 20:07.960 This is the most simple business model you could have. 20:07.960 --> 20:09.680 Sales, costs, and then profits. 20:09.680 --> 20:13.160 And what I can do is go down here and show you what a spreadsheet user might do. 20:13.160 --> 20:18.840 For example, he might say that his sales are, let's say, $1,000 and come down here and say 20:18.840 --> 20:22.000 that his costs are $500. 20:22.000 --> 20:25.360 And then doing a calculation to calculate the difference between the two to show what 20:25.360 --> 20:27.920 the profits are, in this case, something like this. 20:27.920 --> 20:32.000 OK, so your sales minus your costs are going to equal your profits there. 20:32.000 --> 20:33.000 Mm-hmm. 20:33.000 --> 20:34.000 OK. 20:34.000 --> 20:35.720 All right, and that gives me a number. 20:35.720 --> 20:37.760 Now, in a spreadsheet, that works very nicely. 20:37.760 --> 20:41.160 If I want to do what is, I have to go around and change those numbers and record all the 20:41.160 --> 20:42.520 different values. 20:42.520 --> 20:44.800 With predict, however, I can do something a bit different. 20:44.800 --> 20:48.720 I can actually represent all the values for a particular variable, in this case, sales, 20:48.720 --> 20:50.000 in a single cell. 20:50.000 --> 20:53.080 And I do that by creating what is called a distribution. 20:53.080 --> 20:56.600 Predict has eight of these that are predefined and one that you can define yourself. 20:56.600 --> 21:01.000 Now, in the case that I just mentioned, let's say my sales are between 500 and 1,000, most 21:01.000 --> 21:02.720 likely, let's say, 700. 21:02.720 --> 21:05.260 That's what we call a triangular distribution. 21:05.260 --> 21:09.600 I can tell predict to do or maintain, if you will, a list of 100 what-ifs and then put 21:09.600 --> 21:11.120 in the values for the distribution. 21:11.120 --> 21:18.080 Let's say 500 as my minimum, 700 is my most likely, and 1,000 as my maximum. 21:18.080 --> 21:19.800 And I've created a probability distribution. 21:19.800 --> 21:21.480 I can do the same thing for cost. 21:21.480 --> 21:25.240 Let's say that I would say my cost would be between 300 and $700. 21:25.240 --> 21:28.680 And that's a uniform distribution because it doesn't really have a middle point. 21:28.680 --> 21:31.680 Again, I'll keep track of 100 what-ifs. 21:31.680 --> 21:35.000 And I can keep track of up to 8,000 if I want. 21:35.000 --> 21:37.760 And let's say between 300 and 700. 21:37.760 --> 21:40.000 So you're just putting in your min, your max there. 21:40.000 --> 21:41.000 Exactly. 21:41.000 --> 21:45.720 Now, the nice feature, actually, the major feature of predict is its ability to do the 21:45.720 --> 21:50.520 same sort of calculations you would in a spreadsheet, but to maintain all of the results that you 21:50.520 --> 21:52.200 would do for each one of those what-ifs. 21:52.200 --> 21:54.240 So I can create a list of values. 21:54.240 --> 21:58.640 And rather than an initial list, which might be historical data, I can create it in an 21:58.640 --> 22:06.320 output sense, creating 100 values given my calculation, in this case, F7 minus F9. 22:06.320 --> 22:11.800 Now I can ask predict to go out and do 100 what-ifs automatically just by giving it that. 22:11.800 --> 22:16.520 And as you can see, the system is picking values from each of those two probability 22:16.520 --> 22:20.240 distributions and calculating values in the profit cell. 22:20.240 --> 22:24.200 And at the bottom of the screen, it's telling me how much time I have left until my calculations 22:24.200 --> 22:25.560 are done. 22:25.560 --> 22:30.200 The real question is now that all those values have been generated, what can we do with them? 22:30.200 --> 22:34.580 Predict has a number of features built in as spreadsheet features to handle probability 22:34.580 --> 22:38.480 distributions in terms of displays, and for example, graphics. 22:38.480 --> 22:39.480 So it's done its 100 calculations. 22:39.480 --> 22:40.720 How do you look at this now? 22:40.720 --> 22:41.720 Right. 22:41.720 --> 22:45.320 Well, one of the ways, most comprehensively, to look at a lot of data is to draw a graph. 22:45.320 --> 22:50.280 I can do that, let's say, by bringing down my profits graph here and looking at the information 22:50.280 --> 22:51.800 in this cell, F11. 22:51.800 --> 22:53.520 But not just the number that's on the screen. 22:53.520 --> 22:55.680 I want to look at all the values that have been generated. 22:55.680 --> 22:58.280 So I put a dollar sign on there. 22:58.280 --> 23:01.960 And now predict will take those 100 values and create a probability distribution. 23:01.960 --> 23:06.200 And that will be shown in a graph here in a second. 23:06.200 --> 23:08.040 Now, we can see a number of things here. 23:08.040 --> 23:12.640 We can see that there's some probability of a loss over towards the minus side. 23:12.640 --> 23:15.680 There's a much greater probability of a profit in this small business plan. 23:15.680 --> 23:18.400 And we can also see what the most likely value would be on the graph. 23:18.400 --> 23:20.520 Can you calculate the odds of a loss? 23:20.520 --> 23:21.520 Sure. 23:21.520 --> 23:25.720 There's functionality, for example, with this perform calculate function that allows me 23:25.720 --> 23:32.520 to see, let's say, the chance of a number being wildly negative in that cell. 23:32.520 --> 23:34.200 And the answer is 8%. 23:34.200 --> 23:37.320 That's right. 23:37.320 --> 23:41.120 What about the, we saw the new Mac 2 just before, and of course we know about the new 23:41.120 --> 23:43.200 IBM personal system 2. 23:43.200 --> 23:46.600 What are the consequences of that new IBM system in terms of you guys who are developing 23:46.600 --> 23:47.600 software? 23:47.600 --> 23:52.320 Well, from our standpoint, obviously, people are demanding techniques such as these, which 23:52.320 --> 23:55.240 involve a lot more computations and a lot more data being stored. 23:55.240 --> 24:00.040 And obviously, the faster the machines and the more data that they can store, going beyond, 24:00.040 --> 24:04.080 let's say, the 640K limit, is a boon to products like ours. 24:04.080 --> 24:05.760 And what about the graphical interface? 24:05.760 --> 24:08.960 Are we going to see that as a standard application interface? 24:08.960 --> 24:09.960 Well, I don't know. 24:09.960 --> 24:14.240 I mean, the fact is that people are very much used to seeing things in this format. 24:14.240 --> 24:18.120 There are 2, 3, 4 million spreadsheet users in the world that use it exactly as you see 24:18.120 --> 24:19.120 there. 24:19.120 --> 24:22.000 Whether they want to learn something else to get the job done, only time will tell. 24:22.000 --> 24:23.240 Gentlemen, we're out of time. 24:23.240 --> 24:24.240 Thank you very much. 24:24.240 --> 24:25.240 That completes our look at spreadsheets. 24:25.240 --> 24:29.720 We'll be back next week with part 4 of this business application series looking at database 24:29.720 --> 24:31.760 managers, so be sure to join us then. 24:31.760 --> 24:45.040 Right now, stay tuned for this week's computer news. 24:45.040 --> 24:49.240 I'm Susan Chase sitting in for Stuart Shafae in the Random Access File this week. 24:49.240 --> 24:54.240 Lotus Development Corporation has signed a 10-year agreement with IBM to design software 24:54.240 --> 24:59.960 for its largest computers, starting with a version of 123 for the System 370 mainframes. 24:59.960 --> 25:04.680 The deal puts Lotus on a more even footing with Microsoft, which recently overtook Lotus 25:04.680 --> 25:09.680 as the world's largest manufacturer of PC software and has long had a working relationship 25:09.680 --> 25:11.200 with IBM. 25:11.200 --> 25:15.800 Its most devastating effect will be on Ashton Tate, the only one of the big three software 25:15.800 --> 25:18.220 makers without such a relationship. 25:18.220 --> 25:22.200 The new version of 123 will not be available until next year. 25:22.200 --> 25:27.640 Lotus also announced two other versions of 123 with multi-dimensional support capability, 25:27.640 --> 25:34.440 a line of multi-user database programs, and an enhanced programming capability for 123. 25:34.440 --> 25:37.280 And the race for the fastest computers continues. 25:37.280 --> 25:43.600 ETA Systems recently unveiled the ETA10, a supercomputer capable of processing 10 billion 25:43.600 --> 25:45.400 calculations per second. 25:45.400 --> 25:50.280 ETA, a controlled data subsidiary, claims the new machine has twice the performance 25:50.280 --> 25:53.400 of supercomputers made by industry leader Cray Research. 25:53.400 --> 25:59.320 Cray, on the other hand, believes their Cray 2 is three times faster than the ETA10. 25:59.320 --> 26:03.720 And further competition comes from thinking machines, with their announcement of a machine 26:03.720 --> 26:09.480 that reportedly outperforms both ETA10 and Cray 2 on some tasks. 26:09.480 --> 26:14.080 Apple Computer plans to create an independent software company to promote the creation of 26:14.080 --> 26:17.200 programs for its computers by small developers. 26:17.200 --> 26:21.400 The new Apple company will sell programs written by other companies who would not otherwise 26:21.400 --> 26:25.040 have the resources to market and distribute their products. 26:25.040 --> 26:29.740 In addition, it will sell programs currently published by Apple, but under its own label. 26:29.740 --> 26:33.960 Apple sees these new products as a way of stimulating sales of its computers by making 26:33.960 --> 26:36.380 them capable of doing more things. 26:36.380 --> 26:40.800 Now it's time for this week's software review, and here's Paul Schindler. 26:40.800 --> 26:43.620 Outlines obscure details. 26:43.620 --> 26:46.280 The same is true of many outliners now on the market. 26:46.280 --> 26:48.660 They tend to obscure rather than illuminate. 26:48.660 --> 26:52.600 Now that was before Moore, a most graphical outliner and database. 26:52.600 --> 26:56.720 First of all, as a simple outliner, it offers you the option of looking at any outline in 26:56.720 --> 27:01.800 three different graphic formats, tree, bullet, or outline. 27:01.800 --> 27:05.720 You can hop back and forth between various levels of detail. 27:05.720 --> 27:10.400 In addition, you can change fonts, add lines, eliminate the menu at the bottom, change numbers 27:10.400 --> 27:13.760 to bullets, and use Moore to create overhead slides. 27:13.760 --> 27:16.600 Now if that were all it could do, Moore would be cute. 27:16.600 --> 27:20.320 But you can also have six different files open at once on the screen. 27:20.320 --> 27:22.720 And Moore can total figures within the outline. 27:22.720 --> 27:24.440 Actually, Moore does many things. 27:24.440 --> 27:26.380 It can do memos and letters. 27:26.380 --> 27:28.040 It can keep an online calendar. 27:28.040 --> 27:30.100 Now suppose you want to keep your calendar in Moore. 27:30.100 --> 27:34.800 You bring up a calendar, drag the mouse across it, and Moore will create a calendar outline. 27:34.800 --> 27:39.760 Other templates can be used for expenses, order entry, or an address book. 27:39.760 --> 27:44.400 Moore is an outliner for use on the Apple Macintosh, $295 from Living Video Text of 27:44.400 --> 27:46.020 Mountain View, California. 27:46.020 --> 27:48.600 For the Computer Chronicles, I'm Paul Schindler. 27:48.600 --> 27:54.040 And that's it for this week's Computer Chronicles. 27:54.040 --> 27:58.400 The Computer Chronicles is made possible by Leading Edge, makers of IBM-compatible computer 27:58.400 --> 28:02.960 systems including word processing with spelling correction, communication software, and Hays 28:02.960 --> 28:06.360 compatible 1200 and 2400 baud modems. 28:06.360 --> 28:09.800 Leading Edge, with over 1,000 service centers nationwide. 28:09.800 --> 28:12.720 Leading Edge, leading the way to the information age. 28:12.720 --> 28:16.480 Additional funding is provided by McGraw-Hill, publishers of Byte. 28:16.480 --> 28:20.980 Byte's detailed technical articles on new hardware, software, and languages cover developments 28:20.980 --> 28:42.040 in computer technology worldwide.